Sierra Leone President Refers Constitutional Amendment to Supreme Court

President Julius Maada Bio has deferred signing the recently passed “Constitution of Sierra Leone (Amendment) Act, 2026,” and has referred the legislation to the Supreme Court for an official judicial opinion.

The decision follows a petition submitted on September 4 by the civil society group Institute for Governance Reform (IGR), which raised questions about the constitutionality of the parliamentary procedures involved in the bill’s approval.

Parliament had formally transmitted the legislation to State House for presidential assent on September 10, amid mounting public debate and divided national opinion over the proposed constitutional changes.

Invoking Section 122(1) of the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution, President Bio directed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to facilitate the legal referral.

The Executive Office emphasised that any major amendments to the country’s constitutional framework “require clear legal validation and broad national consensus to uphold public trust in democratic institutions.”

The Clerk of Parliament has been formally notified of this executive action. If the Supreme Court’s ruling exceeds the 14-day window following the bill’s presentation, President Bio will withhold his final decision and will notify Parliament immediately upon receiving the court’s opinion.

State House described this intervention as an unprecedented effort to ensure constitutional compliance and promote transparency in governance.

AP